The Descolada is a fictional virus in the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. It is a quasi-conscious self-modifying organism capable of infecting any form of life. The Descolada is first mentioned in Speaker for the Dead, and plays a leading role in the later book Xenocide. Additionally, in Children of the Mind, the Lusitanians, with the aid of Jane, make their way to the home world of the descolada. It is eventually revealed that the creators of the descolada (known as descoladores) may be intelligent life forms, sending out the virus for a number of reasons including a method of communication, a means of enslavement, and a tool for colonization/terraforming. The true intent of the descolada is never discovered, however, as the book ends before any meaningful contact can be made with them.
"Descolada" is a real Portuguese word meaning "unglued"; within the context of the Enderverse, the virus was named this because it breaks the link of the DNA double helix (ungluing it) and induces dramatic and, in most species, lethal mutations.
Read more about this topic: Concepts In The Ender's Game Series